XC: Raleigh

It’s been a while. I’ve gone through a huge life transition since I last wrote. Things have drastically changed. I graduated college, said farewell to my friends that had become family, left behind my favorite neighborhoods, coffee shops, restaurants and bakeries as I moved away from my favorite city in America (Charleston, y’all). Got snappy business cards at my first job in public relations and moved to another southern city (Raleigh, North Carolina). So you can see, there wasn’t much time to write. But, of course, there is always time to eat.

Raleigh in itself has been a transition. I have tried to place my finger on it, and I don’t know what’s different. Is it me? Is it the city? Is it the mere fact that I am a working woman?

I need to document, though the list is never-ending, things that I miss about Charleston.

The smell of hydrangea wafting through the cobblestone streets, the incredible friendliness of each and every person you pass, the sea breeze as you lean against the cold fence at the battery, taking a walk just because you know that you will notice thousands of details you’ve never noticed on a Charleston Single even though you’ve walked by it everyday. I miss my favorite coffee shop (cheers Black Tap), neighborhood animals that felt like my own because of our daily interactions (and the occasional treats I’d bring them from the Farmers Market)….the Saturday morning Farmers Market. I miss the shops, my backyard full of shady palmettos, my boyfriends porch over the busy corner store. I could go on and on…

The good news, I will be back. I have never been so sure of anything in my life. Charleston has my heart.

But, it is on to my next “cross-country”. I was looking forward to discovering new haunts in Raleigh, but have yet to find anything that has wowed me. Am I not looking in the right places? I’m sure. Raleigh is completely reminiscent of my hometown, a city in Northern Virginia, sans traffic but with no city. I know what you’re saying! Raleigh is a city!! It is lacking the pizzaz and electricity of NYC, Charleston, DC. It is lacking charm*.

*Charm is solely an opinion of Corianna, she knows many people who adore Raleigh

So, I have made it my mission to put on some red lipstick, and pull it together. I am seeking all suggestions for exciting things to do in Raleigh and counting on you to help.

Update: It has been less than 24 hours since I posted this, and I have had a lot of really great feedback that recent grads are in the same boat….and it’s wildly comforting. Overwhelmingly, it seems that everyone has been trying to cope with the fact that, “OMG, we work 9-5? Is this what the rest of our life looks like? Soon we will be married and have children and mortgages and have to pay taxes….” but what I am slowly learning is that nothing is permanent. My mom (praise that woman) sent me this quote yesterday that just seems so fitting, so I thought I would do my good deed of the day and share it with you all. XC

“I beg you… to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Do not search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”– Rilke